Is Kong King?

The big ape climbs to the top in the US

Opening in over three and a half thousand theatres this weekend, Peter Jackson’s latest epic King Kong took $50.1 million, which means the furry beast has raked in $66.2 million stateside since its release last Wednesday. All in all, Jackson’s little flick has generated around $146 million of worldwide ker-ching already.

The haul makes Kong the fourth largest December debut ever. It nestles behind two of Jacko’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy - The Return of the King hoovered up $72.6 million while The Two Towers netted $62 million. Also ahead of Jack Black, Naomi Watts and co is The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe which took $65.6 million on its release.

As we reported last week, Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain didn’t disappoint as it expanded its release to 69 screens, taking in a further $2.4 million. For those of you without a calculator handy, that’s an average of $34,194 per screen. No doubt producers Focus will look to further expand Brokeback’s release as the awards season begins to shape up.

Here is the US top ten in terms of the past weekend’s till receipts:

1) King Kong $50.1 million 2) Chronicles of Narnia $31.2 million 3) Family Stone $12.7 million 4) Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire $5.9 million 5) Syriana $5.5 million 6) Walk the Line $3.6 million 7) Yours, Mine & Ours $3.4 million 8) Brokeback Mountain $2.4 million 9) Just Friends $2.0 million 10) Aeon Flux $1.7 million